Lessons from The Grinch
In a year of true controversy and arguing with loved ones in person and “friends” on social media about masks, politics and why the Sox traded Mookie, I’ve got one more question that could spark some controversy and heightened feelings:
Which of the Grinch movies is your favorite?
The original 1966 animated version with Thurl Ravenscroft (epic name!) singing “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”
The 2000 live-action version with Jim Carrey
The 2018 animated version with Benedict Cumberbatch (who is right behind Thurl Ravenscroft in the amazing names competition)
Whichever version you prefer, it’s amazing that all three of them retain some of the original lines from Dr. Seuss’s 1957 publication of How the Grinch Stole Christmas! I hope we can all agree that this book is a classic, with line after line that parallel our God-given longings for meaning, community and heart-transformation, as well as the greed, loneliness and materialism that come with being fallen people in a fallen world.
Who can forget lines like these?
“The Grinch hated Christmas — the whole Christmas season. Oh, please don’t ask why, no one quite knows the reason. It could be, perhaps, that his shoes were too tight. It could be his head wasn’t screwed on just right. But I think that the most likely reason of all…may have been that his heart was two sizes too small.”
Then, just as the Grinch is beginning to figure things out: “And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled ’till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store? What if Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more?”
Then there’s this one: “Every Who down in Whoville, the tall and the small, was singing without any presents at all! He hadn’t stopped Christmas from coming! It came! Somehow or other, it came just the same!”
And I love, “And what happened then? Well, in Whoville they say, that the Grinch’s small heart grew three sizes that day.”
And having had his sin exposed, becoming a changed Grinch, and being invited into community, “And he…he himself…the Grinch carved the roast beast.” Classic.
We’ve had a ton of heavy conversations this year, and I’m not sure that they’ve brought us closer together or even helped us get to know one another more. I think we would do well this December to ask lighter questions…something between surface-level nonsense and hot-button issues. Seize the season to ask questions like, “What’s your favorite line from a Grinch movie?” or “What’s your favorite tradition or the best gift you’ve ever gotten?” These questions can become gateways to community, dialogue, peace, healing and even sharing the hope we have.
In a year of Grinches, be a Who. In a year of puzzling, be found singing. In a year of “too small” hearts, be one who contributes to growth. And in a year of division, may the Grinches in your world be loved and welcomed into roast beast-carving community in Christ.
FYI: The correct order for these versions is 1966 (purely on sentimentality), 2018, and then 2000. Believe no person who tells you anything other than this ranking! Merry Christmas!
JD Mangrum is the church planting pastor of Christ Church Charlestown in Charlestown, MA.